Our 20 Favorite Women on TV

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re taking a look at our favorite women in television history, whether it’s classic leading ladies like Mary Tyler Moore’s Mary and Diana Rigg’s Mrs. Peel, or newer additions like Tracee Ellis Ross’ Rainbow Johnson and Gwendoline Christie’s Brienne of Tarth. Here are 20 women’s picks for their favorite female TV characters. We know there are a ton of great characters missing (Lucy Ricardo, Liz Lemon, and Leslie Knope to name a few), so don’t forget to add your favorite women on tv in the comments.

Image credit: ABC

Maya DiMeo (Minnie Driver), Speechless: “It’s the first time I’ve seen a mom of a child with special needs depicted in a real and relatable way. So often moms of children with disabilities are seen as martyrs or pitied or the complete opposite, shown as unflappable super women. Minnie Driver’s character finally shows us as what we are – real moms with real lives who are just getting shit done. I love her and appreciate the show for finally showing my reality on TV!” —Lynne Getz, Like A Mother

Image credit: ABC

Rainbow Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross), Blackish: “Rainbow Johnson is the epitome of every working mom. Tired, but involved, and really pulling with how to explain the ways of the world to her children, while keeping them focused on becoming good citizens. She’s not competing with her husband, and it’s nice to see another strong black nuclear family on television besides the Cosby’s.” –Natasha Nicholes, Houseful of Nicholes

Image credit: HBO

Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), Game of Thrones: “She showed women can be powerful and noble and don’t HAVE to look like Barbies, but can still be beautiful. Ditto to Xena Warrior Princess.” –Katie Reed, It’s A Mother Thing

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “I adore Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and she heralded a new age of female superheroes and action stars. She was such a unique invention too. a “girly girl”, a cheerleader, who cared about her friends and her dating life as well as saving the world. Buffy proved that there were many ways to be a heroine. Combine her with brainy skeptic doctor Dana Scully (as played by Gillian Anderson) on the X Files, and you have a recipe for my late nineties TV obsessions.“ —Diana Peterfreund, author

Image credit: NBC

Tami Taylor (Connie Britton), Friday Night Lights: “I adore Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights because she is together, supportive, a great mom and wife, and she is a positive influence in a school setting.” —Christina June, author

Image credit: ABC

Darlene Merriman (Robin Givens), Head of the Class: “As an outgoing but studious girl in the 1980’s, I loved Darlene on Head of the Class. In a pre-Hermione world, she let me know that sitting in the front row of class, always raising my hand, working for a high grade and participating in class discussions were actions to be celebrated. (And I loved her preppy-cool fashion sense. V-neck sweaters and boxy blazers FTW!) ” –Jessica McFadden, A Parent in America

Image credit: ABC

Ellen Morgan (Ellen DeGeneres), Ellen: “Ellen DeGeneres broke ground in 1997, portraying the first gay character to come out in television history, six months after President Clinton signed DOMA into law, incidentally, with no less than Oprah as her on-screen therapist. Ellen came out publicly herself two weeks before, on the cover of Time. The show was cancelled the following year, but Ellen ‘s career flourished, out on screen and off.” –Laurie White, LaurieMedia

Image credit: NBC

Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty), Golden Girls: “She is this great combination of wise with age and young at heart. She’s never afraid to say what she thinks, always up for new adventures, and loves fiercely.” –Sara McTigue, Everyday Family

Image credit: ITV

Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), The Avengers: “I’m (at least) a generation older, so Mrs. Peel on “The Avengers” was the ultimate in 60’s cool. We never even learned her first name as her partner in spy-dom never used it. Mrs. Peel was wonderfully mysterious, always perfectly, understatedly elegant, game for anything, with mad skills in hand-to-hand combat and tradecraft. But I have to admit that the one who influenced me the most was Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie. In the world of wacky sitcom wives, she may not have been the Mary Richards we later saw, but the beginnings were there. I loved her partnership with Rob and the romantic and sexy spark between them.” –Nell Minow, The Movie Mom

Image credit: ABC

Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr), Roseanne & Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal), Married With Children: “Roseanne. Peggy Bundy. I love my mama, but she was so serious. I loved watching how Roseanne and Peggy parented. The episode where Roseanne taught Darlene’s class to grocery shop and make meatloaf is my favorite.” –Xenia Galaviz, Raised by Culture

Image credit: CBS

Mary, The Mary Tyler Moore Show: “I spent about 10 years as a TV news producer, and I probably have Mary Tyler Moore to thank for providing the perfect role model in my youth. Her character was smart, funny, sarcastic, compassionate, independent, and well-liked by her peers. Qualities that set the bar, regardless of profession.” –Hannah Buchdahl, Chick Flix

Image credit: NBC

Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad), The Cosby Show: “Clair Huxtable. She’s the kind of mother I would be if I ever had kids.” —Jazzy Jones

Image credit: ABC

Colleen McMurphy (Dana Delany), China Beach: “Strong, flawed, but searching for meaning in her experiences. It was one of the first truly well-written female leads in a TV show that didn’t have a man rescuing her.” –Karen Mares, Beyond Words Life

Image credit: CBS

Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen), Murphy Brown : “Murphy Brown – I was fairly young when I watched her, but I always thought she was a strong female character. She wasn’t portrayed as “perfect” but tough. She was in recovery from alcohol, it seemed like she had to break through some glass ceilings in her career, and she’s the first single mother I remember seeing on TV. (At least in a positive light). ” –Darcy Zalewski, Life With Darcy and Brian

Image credit: BBC

Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), Dr. Who: “She didn’t understand her value but ultimately you learn that she is amazing because of who she is. I loved her spunk and ability to face any challenge head on.” –Meagan, Goepferich, More Than A Homeschool Mom

Image credit: CBS

Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury ), Murder She Wrote: “Smart, witty. She inspired me to write and I loved how she always came up with a resolution, when all others failed. Murphy Brown/Candice Bergen. No-nonsense, tough as nails female, Her character was one of those that you either loved or not, Not much grey areas here. Loved her tenacity.” –Jacqueline Miller, Jacqueline DuJour

Image Credit: NBC

Vivian Banks (Janet Hubert), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: “Will Smith may have been the star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but Aunt Viv stole the show. She was simultaneously bourgeoisie AND woke and was the obvious queen of her household. She also painted a picture of a strong wife and mother who kept us laughing with her perpetual shade and side eyes. When she left the show, it was still good, but never the same. That, almost 30 years later, we are buying Aunt Viv pins and following Janet Huber on social media is a testament to the impact she had on us in such a short time. Long live Aunt Viv!” –Stacey Ferguson, Justice Fergie

Image credit: NBC

Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle), Little House on the Prairie: “Ma from Little House in the Prairie because she never yelled or lost her cool and she could handle emergencies. She worked and was respected in the community and beloved at home.” –Catherine Pearlman, The Family Coach

Image credit: SyFy

Kara Thrace aka Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), Battlestar Galactica: I wanted to add my own pick, because the show and the character have been so underappreciated in the past decade since it aired on SyFy. It was a risky proposition to turn the originally male character into a female in the mid 2004 reboot, but the result was glorious. Sackhoff’s Starbuck is brave, loyal, unapologetically fierce, and more than occasionally, infuriatingly enigmatic. She remains one of the most badass and wonderful characters on TV ever, male, female, Cylon, android, muppet, cartoon,or otherwise. –Sandie Chen, Teen Lit Rocks

SANDIE ANGULO CHEN is a writer, critic, and pop culture addict. She’s written about movies, books, and entertainment since 1998, when she landed her first job after college at Entertainment Weekly. Sandie has contributed as a feature writer and critic at AOL Moviefone, the Washington Post, Variety, Huffington Post, TV Squad, Film.com, Kirkus Books, and other entertainment outlets. When she’s not running around the DC area with her three children, reading YA books, or screening movies and TV shows (favorites include Singin’ in the Rain, Pulp Fiction, All About My Mother, Lost, The Simpsons, and The Wire), she runs Teen Lit Rocks, a young-adult book blog and The DC Moms, a local lifestyle site. She holds a bachelors degree in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University. Follow her on Twitter at @sandieachen & @teenlitrocks and on Instagram at @sandie_chen.

Mom 2.0 Summit

2020 Mom 2.0 Summit

MAY 6-8, 2020 • Los Angeles, California
AN OPEN CONVERSATION BETWEEN MOMS + MARKETERS + MEDIA
Mom 2.0 is a gathering of influencers and leaders who create content online and on air in parenting, entertainment, food, politics, business, marketing, technology, social change, travel and design.

Sign Up for the Mom 2.0 Newsletter

Email Address

Find us on Facebook

Mom 2.0 Summit

MAY 6-8, 2020 • Los Angeles, California
AN OPEN CONVERSATION BETWEEN MOMS + MARKETERS + MEDIA
Mom 2.0 is a gathering of influencers and leaders who create content online and on air in parenting, entertainment, food, politics, business, marketing, technology, social change, travel and design.